Join the conversation: JFK, the Texans and James Coney Island

Hugh Aynesworth has written assassination stories for the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Times Herald, Life magazine and numerous other publications.

Photo: Joe Holley, Staff

The anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination, the Texans' lackluster season and the latest news on health care are just a few of the stories that had HoustonChronicle.com readers talking in recent days.

Hugh Aynesworth officially had the day off that Friday, and the 32-year-old space and aviation reporter for the Dallas Morning News was miffed at his newsroom bosses. Just back from a reporting trip to Cuba, he found that every other reporter had some assignment related to the president's momentous visit to Dallas, but he had nothing. He felt left out.

Great piece! While the federal beat reporter for The Houston Post in 1968-69, I did some stringer work for Hugh Aynesworth when he was Newsweek bureau chief in Houston. Although I knew vaguely that Mr. Aynesworth was part of the Kennedy assassination press coverage, your column revealing he was present at no less than three of the pivotal events of that day came as a revelation. On Nov. 22, 1963, I was a 19, a reporter for The Valley Morning Star, in Harlingen. I left home in late morning and went directly to the local high school to gather information in a government class of a feature story. I was almost finished when someone in the classroom mentioned that Kennedy had been killed in Dallas. Like many Americans, the news shocked me. I broke off the interviews and headed for the newsroom, feeling a deep sense of despair. That feeling came back only one time in my life--Sept. 11, 2001. Thanks for the good journalism.

Coach Gary Kubiak made the right decision Monday when he named Case Keenum as the starting quarterback for the fifth consecutive game.

i thought it was the right decision to bring in schaub against the raiders -- case was going nowhere and learning nothing and only putting himself at risk of getting injured. schaub handled the blitz much better than case did and played reasonably well until he started trying to force the ball into andre johnson. the truth is that everybody on the team is at a disadvantage because of lousy coaching on both sides of the ball. can mcnair offer bill belichick enough money to get him away from the patriots? he always seems to get the maximum out of his teams, which is something we've never seen on the Texans.

If you had one of the best-known local retail brand names, would you change it?

It will always be James Coney Island. Just like KFC will always be Kentucky Fried. I can nearly understand why KFC wanted to get the "fried" outa their name so they can be 'healthier' but it doesn't really makes sense for James Coney Island.